The first point of sale unit, crafted in 1870, was awkward, clunky and exquisite enough to deserve a place on your mantelpiece. It was so hefty it couldn’t even travel through the mail, let alone in your pocket.

Even when the first credit card arrived on the market 80 years later, merchants could only fantasise about a reader evolved enough to travel door to door. Today’s businesses have never had it easier (or safer).

EMV technology has at last made the antiquated swipe-and-signature card an endangered species, and the world’s first truly portable chip and PIN bank card reader has reinvented the way businesses think about their point of sale (PoS) strategy.

Your Business, Your Revenue

Your point of sale strategy is as central to your profits as any other best practice. A fully integrated business, with software that communicates across departments, has become more than merely a twinkle in Bill Gates’ eye.It’s a necessity in today’s data-driven era.

A chip and PIN unit like SumUp’s is more than a credit card reader.Instead, think of it as a business partner that contributes to your service quality as much as your team does.

Their benefits permeate every facet of your company from the shop floor to the marketing department, all the way to your accountant’s desk. It creates a pervasive software hub that keeps the cogs of your business turning smoothly.

A chip-and-pin unit 's benefits permeate every facet of your company from the shop floor to your accountant's desk.

This level of debit card reader integration is the only way to compete in an information-dependent age. Of course, your unit must also do its main job supremely well—accepting all major credit cards and keeping your payments secure.

Accept card payments the easy way with SumUp

For just 1.69% per transaction your business can accept debit, credit and contactless payments.

The Basics

While current cards can still be swiped, slick PoS systems keep records detailed and accurate enough to track easily and better yet, they’re as portable as your smartphone.

SumUp’s mobile card reader uses a Bluetooth-equipped phone or tablet as a host for EMV chip card transactions. These chips are microprocessors with security substantial enough to prevent cloning and hacking.

The unit is kind on batteries and heavy on convenience. It’s also the lightest fraud prevention tool you’ll add to your business.

Yesterday’s credit card reader came with a comprehensive list of fees for processing, cancellation, and just about everything else banks could dream up to raise their profits. An alternative was long overdue, and it needed to amplify the merchant’s profits, not the bank’s.

SumUp only charges a percentage of the transactions it processes. If you’re a small or mobile business, that means your terminal is fully scalable. It will support your startup’s micro-profits as well as it does your Fortune 500-worthy revenue once you’ve skyrocketed to success.

Your mobile card reader should integrate with Microsoft Excel. This way, every business decision you make will be supported by the market, social and accounting data that your bank card reader feeds into your software.

Business intelligence is always only a click away. Add analytics plugins to your system and you have metrics potent enough to fuel growth.

Of course, your accountant will thank you too because your debit card reader connects to The Cloud. Figures are accessible anytime from anywhere. Visa, V Pay, MasterCard, American Express and Maestro payments are automatically credited to your bank account daily. If you’re going to a foreign country on business, you can simply arrange to take your unit with you.

Service Excellence Via Technology

Buyers want two things from their card transactions: swift service and security. Chip-and-pin systems outperform predecessors on both fronts, obliterating the snail-paced queues of yesteryear.

Sensitive client data is difficult to compromise with EMVs’ double layer of security, but the Black Hat Briefings, a computer security conference, underlines the importance of encrypting each transaction.

The Future

A new transaction standard has been set, and it’s paving the way towards what may one day become a global currency processed through smartphones alone. For now, the best businesses can do for their PoS is to hone their transaction strategy for service excellence and data collection.

It’s EMV technology that achieves that. As a business owner or manager, you work hard for your revenue. It’s about time your PoS worked equally hard for your business.

In Summary

A business’ PoS strategy can make or break its competitive edge. EMV technology is now affordable and allows merchants today to welcome all customers whether cash, debit or credit card is presented during the secure payment process.